The Quantum Dot

A Journey into the Future of Microelectronics

Richard Turton

The microchip is the technological miracle of the twentieth-century, packing millions of bits of information on a surface no larger than a human thumbnail. This revolution in microelectronics has dramatically changed the way we live. While microchips are found in everything from computers, fax machines, lasers, and children's toys, the vast majority of us still have no idea how they really work. In The Quantum Dot, physicist Richard Turton reveals the science behind the microelectronic revolution and provides us with a tantalizing peek at the future of this rapidly evolving field. Turton's clear explanations and engaging style make this a book that will appeal to the armchair scientist while sacrificing nothing of the complexity that the more sophisticated reader will demand. Here we learn how researchers have packed more and more bits into the silicon chip and look at the latest innovations in the industry today, from the newest chip materials (used in the recently released Cray 3 supercomputer) to the exotic world of high-temperature superconductors. Readers are also treated to a walk on the wild side: we venture into the strange realm where quantum theory prevails and where physical events contradict our intuitive perceptions and learn how researchers are struggling to create "designer atoms" and the incredibly small and fast quantum dot. The range of future possibilities is immense, and thanks to The Quantum Dot, we can follow the progress of modern technology and glimpse how new the world might look.

The Quantum Dot

A Journey into the Future of Microelectronics

Richard Turton

Description

Since first developed in the early sixties, silicon chip technology has made vast leaps forward. From a rudimentary circuit with a mere handful of transistors, the chip has evolved into a technological miracle, packing millions of bits of information on a surface no larger than a human thumbnail. And most experts predict that in the near future, we will see chips with over a billion bits. At the same time, this revolution in microelectronics has sparked a dramatic change in the way we live. An integral part of the computer industry, the microchip is found in everything from lasers, fax machines, and satellites to greeting cards and children's toys. And yet few people have any idea how chips work, or how so much information can be captured in such a miniscule space.

Now, in The Quantum Dot, physicist Richard Turton provides a clear, informative look at the science that lies behind the modern revolution in microelectronics and offers an intriguing glimpse of the possible future of this rapidly evolving field. Turton illuminates the development of the microchip, in a discussion that ranges from a primer on atoms and electrons, to the properties of semiconductors (most notably, silicon), to the structure of the transistor. We learn how researchers have managed to pack the tiny silicon chip with more and more bits, and we get a state-of-the-art look at the microelectronic industry today, from the newest chip materials (such as gallium arsenide, a much faster material than silicon, used in the recently released Cray 3 supercomputer) to the exotic world of high-temperature superconductors. Perhaps most interesting, Turton offers a provocative glimpse of the future of microelectronics. Here readers enter the strange realm where quantum theory prevails and where physical events contradict our intuitive perceptions. Turton shows how researchers are leaving the transistor far behind as they struggle to exploit quantum effects to create incredibly small and fast devices, such as "designer atoms" and the quantum dot. He concludes that the range of future possibilities are immense, including devices in which electrons behave not as particles but as waves, and computers in which there are no electrical signals, only beams of light.

Here then is an amazing scientific--and economic--success story, told with clarity and expertise. It will fascinate anyone curious about where modern technology is headed and what the world might look like when it gets there.

The Quantum Dot

A Journey into the Future of Microelectronics

Richard Turton

Author Information

Richard Turton is Computer Officer in the Physics Department, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

The Quantum Dot

A Journey into the Future of Microelectronics

Richard Turton

Reviews and Awards

"With unusual thoroughness--one might say patience--the author explains the physical effects used in the design of semiconductor devices in terms of simple concepts, drawing analogies to tennis balls and pieces of string....Its usefulness need not stop at the lay person; an intuitive scientist will also get a charge out of it."--Andrew Holmes-Siedle, Nature

"Very readable, and a must for anyone with a passing interest in how modern semiconductor chips work."--New Scientist

"Turton breaks new ground by presenting popular physics with the motivation for application."--Times Higher Education Supplement